New Financial Services Act and Financial Institutions Act

What have we achieved in recent months in the field of FINSA/FINIA for the independent asset management industry? Thanks to the SAAM, going forward there will be a FINMA licence but no direct supervision by FINMA. Together with our partners, parliament and the relevant administrative and supervisory bodies, we managed to persuade others of the virtues of this alternative concept. It was important to us that the concept also works in practice. With that in mind, we fought hard for SME-friendly regulations in terms of functions and the division of tasks at the legislative level. And our efforts paid off, having successfully secured legal certainty and planability. Our work doesn’t stop there, however: we are represented in three working groups and are campaigning to ensure the provisions remain proportionate when it comes to enacting them in ordinances.

Taking a look ahead, the ordinances will undergo consultation during the 2018 summer break, before then entering the navette procedure, which will be concluded in summer 2018. An implementation date of 1 January 2020 would thus seem realistic. Transition periods of up to three years apply, meaning that an existing IAM must be affiliated with the supervisory body and have submitted a licence application with FINMA by 31 December 2022. Our SRO will be integrated into the new supervisory body during the transition phase; we will simultaneously be offering advice and support to our members during the transition to the supervisory body.